Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Gu Changjin stared at the red jade floor tile that had been lifted, then looked at the Void Returning experts who had suddenly appeared from all directions, and remained silent for a long time.

The heroes of the world are truly as numerous as carp crossing a river!

They usually keep a deep secret, but when the opportunity truly arises, even those who have reached the pinnacle of enlightenment can emerge from under the floor tiles.

The battle at the Crimson Abyss Heavenly Palace was devastating, with seven or eight out of ten Nascent Soul and Void Return cultivators from the pioneering cultivation world dying, yet these people haven't shown their faces.

Now that the third floor has just opened, everyone is rushing to get there.

Gu Changjin sighed inwardly, but his pace didn't slow down at all.

The golden crack is shrinking; it clearly won't wait forever.

Wearing the armor of the Crimson Abyss General, he swayed and followed behind several powerful demons, rushing directly into the crevice.

The power of space pressed in, and golden light flowed all around.

In just one breath, the scene before my eyes completely changed.

When Gu Changjin opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in an ancient palace.

This ancient temple was not built on the ground, but suspended at the highest point of a broken star.

Through the broken stone pillars outside the hall, one can see the boundless Milky Way flowing slowly, with stars revolving around the ancient hall.

Some stars had already gone out, while others were still burning. The starlight intertwined, illuminating the entire hall in a state of half-light and half-darkness.

In the center of the ancient hall, the phantom of a red jade and glass dragon hovered endlessly.

Every scale on the dragon's body is crystal clear, as if it were carved from the purest red jade in the world.

Its eyes were closed, and its enormous dragon body was curled up in a golden halo.

With each breath, the entire galaxy seemed to undulate.

That halo completely separated the illusory dragon from the outside world.

Whether it's divine sense or magical power, as long as it touches the aura, it will disappear silently.

Gu Changjin's gaze fell on the dragon soul, and his doubts deepened.

Wasn't it said that the third level contained pills for breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, as well as an ancient treasure for the Nascent Soul stage?

Where are my elixirs and ancient treasures? Are they even sending messages properly?

How did it turn into a dragon?

Moreover, the feeling this dragon gave him was definitely not as simple as an ordinary remnant soul.

Even though it was just sleeping there, the power within its body still caused the Blue Star Realm Seed to tremble slightly.

Gu Changjin did not rush to get closer.

At this moment, dozens of figures had already landed in various parts of the main hall.

They are clearly distinct from each other.

Ye Wudi stood alone on the east side of the golden halo, his black clothes stained with blood, and demon blood was still dripping from the sheathless iron sword in his hand.

The Void Returning Cave Heaven behind him had only recently been formed and was not yet fully stable.

Yet his aura far surpassed that of an ordinary early-stage Void Returner.

He was the closest to the Dragon Soul.

On the other side of the main hall.

A middle-aged man with yellow eyes stood with his hands behind his back, followed by more than ten demon race members who had returned to the Void Realm, as well as several massive Crimson Abyss God Generals.

The aura emanating from that person was perfectly complete and flawless.

Although he only showed signs of reaching the peak of the Void Returning stage, Gu Changjin could sense that he possessed power far exceeding this level.

It seems that the information obtained from the Silver-Eyed Ancient Ape indicates that the core of the demon race in this operation, the Great Sage of the Serpent Swamp, is indeed it.

Gu Changjin was still wearing the armor of the Crimson Abyss Heavenly General. As soon as he entered the ancient hall, he naturally walked towards the demon camp.

Several powerful demons sensed his demonic aura but only glanced at him.

Two of the demon lords, both at the late stage of the Returning to Emptiness realm, even nodded at him.

Gu Changjin nodded in response.

He then stood behind several Crimson Abyss Gods.

It blended in very naturally.

Besides the humans and demons, there were also many people in black robes standing in other directions of the main hall.

These people came in all shapes and sizes; some were as tall as mountains, while others had six arms growing from their backs.

Beneath the black robes of several others, no physical outlines could be discerned; only a constantly twisting mass of gray mist remained.

The ancient treasures in their hands exuded an aura that was more terrifying than the last.

One of the ancient black lamps, with just a slight flicker of its flame, caused the surrounding void to collapse.

Gu Changjin glanced at it once and then looked away.

The Holy Church. To be precise, it is the people and forces behind the Holy Church from various ethnic groups.

As for the prodigies from the major sects of Zhongzhou, not one was missing.

Chu Tianheng had changed into a Taoist robe. Although his face was still somewhat pale, his injuries had clearly been suppressed by the pills.

With two guardian elders beside him, and the Nine Yang Suppressing Heaven Seal hanging above his head again, his previous disheveled appearance seemed as if it had never happened.

Xiao Lie of the Burning Heaven Divine Sect, the successor of the Yin Yang Tai Xu Sect, and several other geniuses from the top ten sects stood on their respective sides.

They all held ancient treasures bestowed by their sects, and the pressure emanating from these treasures was in no way weaker than that of those at the peak of the Void Returning stage.

All parties were wary of each other, yet strangely, no one took the initiative to make a move.

Gu Changjin stood at the very back of the demon race's camp, his mind racing.

There are too many things that don't seem right.

Why would someone impersonate him? Why would someone claim to be the Great Sage Bashe, only to be killed by Ye Wudi?

Why did Ye Wudi break through to the Void Returning Realm at this very moment?

What is the demon race's true plan?

Why would the Great Sage of the Serpent Swamp personally enter this place?

Why was the third floor opened ahead of schedule?

According to rumors, the core can only be opened once the cultivators on the first level have collected enough Crimson Abyss Jade Talismans and cooperated with the various heavenly palaces on the second level.

Right now, those juniors on the first floor are probably still searching everywhere for jade talismans.

The fact that the third level has already been opened indicates that the rules of the so-called secret realm can be manipulated from beginning to end.

And those humans who had reached the Void Returning Perfection stage, they had clearly entered the Crimson Abyss Heavenly Palace long ago, yet they watched helplessly as those who pioneered the cultivation world were slaughtered by the demon race.

This was not the accidental trap set by the demon race that I initially thought I had stumbled into; it seemed more like the humans and demons had tacitly eliminated a group of unimportant people first.

The more Gu Changjin thought about it, the more confused he became.

Demon race, human race, Holy religion.

Each of the three parties has its own plan.

It seems like everyone knows some of the truth.

In reality, it's like everyone only knows one layer of the story.

What he couldn't understand the most was Ye Wudi.

Gu Changjin turned his gaze to the young man in black.

Ye Wudi stood there, his expression calm.

Despite being subtly surrounded by humans, demons, and the Holy Church, they showed no sign of panic.

That appearance was exactly like that of a protagonist destined for greatness, where opportunities and enemies are readily offered to him wherever he goes.

Just then, the Great Sage of the Serpent suddenly stepped forward, staring intently at Ye Wudi, his face filled with barely suppressed grief and indignation.

"Ye Wudi! How dare you kill my younger brother, the Great Sage Bashe!"

"If I, the Holy One, do not tear you to pieces today, how will I have the face to return to the demon race?"

Gu Changjin stood at the back of the crowd, his eyes twitching slightly.

Younger brother? When did I, the Great Sage Bashe, become your younger brother?

Besides, are snakes and bashes the same thing?

As soon as he finished speaking, a demon lord beside the Great Sage of the Serpent Swamp rushed forward and grabbed his arm tightly.

"Great Sage, please calm your anger! The greater good of our clan is paramount!"

"The Great Sage Bashe has already perished. If you were to fight Ye Wudi to the death now, it would only benefit the human race and the Holy Sect!"

The Great Sage of the Serpent Swamp suddenly shook off his opponent.

"It wasn't your younger brother who died!"

A flash of light appeared in its palm, and a black spear wreathed in countless snake shadows appeared in its hand.

As soon as the ancient treasure appeared, countless snake cries echoed throughout the Starry Sky Ancient Palace.

It certainly had a powerful presence. If Gu Changjin himself hadn't been standing right there, one would almost have believed that it really did have a younger brother, the Bashe.

Moreover, it's clear that this scene wasn't just performed by the demon race.

Xiao Lie of the Burning Heaven Divine Sect also took a step forward.

"Ye Wudi, you killed my clansman, this feud should be settled today!"

On the other side, a female cultivator dressed in purple spoke in a cold voice.

"Ye Wudi, you stole my sect's inheritance and caused my master to suffer a qi deviation."

"Today, the third level of the Crimson Abyss will be your burial ground."

Following that, several more human powerhouses stepped forward.

Some say Ye Wudi killed his clansmen, some say he stole his fiancée, and others say he seized the sect's ancient treasure and ruined the marriage alliance between the two sects.

Each and every incident seemed to have been rehearsed in advance.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Wudi had become a demon whom everyone wanted to kill.

Gu Changjin's gaze grew increasingly strange.

These people weren't here to seek revenge.

It was clear that they were working together to push Ye Wudi into a certain position.

Ye Wudi looked at the magical treasures raised from all directions, remained silent for a moment, and then a bitter smile appeared on his face.

"If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext."

"I never imagined that in this vast world, there would be no place for me, Ye, to hide."

He slowly gripped the iron sword in his hand, and the newly formed Void Returning Heaven Cave opened up with a roar.

Boundless sword energy shot straight into the Milky Way.

Ye Wudi raised his head, the last trace of bitterness in his eyes disappeared, leaving only sharpness.

"Since that's the case, then kill them!"